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Stress and Cortisol:
The Plague of the 21st Century
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The Dark Side of Cortisol
Since cortisol is an essential stress protection hormone, why should we worry about too much of it? Some cortisol is essential for life. Serious cortisol deficiency produces Addison's disease, a potentially fatal illness. Cortisol is necessary for normal brain, immune, muscle and blood sugar function, and blood circulation. Yet excessive cortisol is equally damaging. Too much cortisol causes abdominal obesity, high blood sugar (adrenal diabetes), muscle wasting, bone loss, immune shutdown, brain (hippocampus) atrophy, poor wound healing, thin wrinkled skin, fluid retention and hypertension. Excessive cortisol frequently causes increased fatigue/decreased energy, irritability, impaired memory, depressed mood, decreased libido, insomnia, anxiety, impaired concentration, crying, restlessness, social withdrawal and feelings of hopelessness.
Chronically excess cortisol may contribute to many diseases, including cancer, ulcers, heart attacks, diabetes, infections, alcoholism, strokes, skin diseases, psychosis, and possibly Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. Cortisol excess may contribute to obesity not only because of the metabolic derangements (including insulin resistance) that it promotes, but also because it induces stress overeating, especially (but not only) in women.
Stress (Cortisol) Management
In an ideal world we would make lifelong stress management an integral part of our daily life. We would sleep eight to nine hours nightly. We would take frequent mini-vacations from work to restore LHPA equilibrium. We would eat only nutritious foods, and avoid alcohol and stimulants such as caffeine, pseudoephidrine etc. We would utilize stress reduction techniques such as tai chi, meditation, quiet prayer, massage, etc. We would take brisk 30-to-60-minute walks daily in a pleasant, safe park. We would live in quiet homes without chronic noise stress from loud TVs, stereos, barking dogs, traffic, etc. Our air and water would be clean, and we wouldn't be subject to chemical stressors such as lead, mercury, fluoride, pesticides, environmental estrogens, medical drugs, etc. Unfortunately, most of us are lucky if we can practice one or two aspects of such an integral stress management lifestyle.
Anti-Cortisol Supplements
Fortunately modern scientific research, drawing on ancient systems
of medicine, has provided us with supplements that reduce excess cortisol and
its many toxic effects. Relora is a proprietary blend of a patented extract from
Magnolia officinalis bark and a patent-pending extract from Phellodendron
amurense bark, developed by Next Pharmaceuticals.
For centuries Japanese Kampo medicine has used Magnolia bark in
herbal remedies such as Saiboku-to to treat clinical depression, anxiety
neurosis, insomnia, anxiety, hysteria, stroke and gastrointestinal complaints
(all potentially caused by cortisol excess). Two Magnolia bark compounds,
magnolol and honokiol, have been identified as the anxiolytic (anti-anxiety)
agents in Saiboku-to. Unlike benzodiazepines such as Valium
they do not cause CNS depression, excessive muscle relaxation, amnesia or
physical dependence. Relora is standardized to a certain level of magnolol and
honokiol. In an animal screening model, the two extracts used in Relora
demonstrated anxiolytic activity without sedation.
An acute toxicity study using 5,000 mg/kg revealed no significant
side effects after 14 days observation. An LD50 (the lethal dose for 50 percent
of the test animals) was not able to be established because of the extreme
non-toxicity of Relora.
Relora: Human Trials
Fifty stressed people were given 200 mg Relora three times per day
for two weeks. Post-trial analysis revealed that 82 percent found Relora
effective in controlling stress-induced symptoms, such as depression, anxiety,
irritability, emotional ups and downs, concentration difficulties and
restlessness. Seventy-eight percent reported increased relaxation, while 74
percent had more restful sleep. No significant side effects were reported,
although 24 percent reported some temporary initial drowsiness, and 6 percent
reported mild and transient GI upset.
In a second clinical trial, 49 stressed subjects who suffered from
stress-induced overeating were given a two-to-three-times per day dose of Relora
for two weeks. There was a 76 percent decline in high fat/sugar/salt snack
eating. Eighty-four percent reported more restful sleep. The vast majority noted
that Relora helped them relax without drowsiness.
In a third trial 12 stressed subjects took Relora for two weeks.
Salivary DHEA and cortisol measurements were taken. Morning salivary cortisol
levels (when cortisol levels are normally highest) dropped 37 percent, while
DHEA levels rose 227 percent. Previously abnormal cortisol/DHEA levels returned
to normal in all subjects by the study's end.
Sensoril
Sensoril is a patented proprietary extract of roots and leaves from
Withania somnifera Dunn, known as Ashwagandha in Ayurvedic medicine. Developed
by researcher Dr. S. Ghosal, who has published many scientific papers on the
anti-stress action of various Ashwagandha compounds, Sensoril is standardized to
contain the proper amounts of glycowithanolides, Withaferin-A, and
oligosaccarides that research has shown to promote optimal anti-stress activity.
Sensoril is a carefully balanced formulation of the key compounds
that provide Ashwagandha's immunomodulating and
anti-stress activity. By optimizing the ratio of oligosaccharides to
polysaccharides, Dr. Ghosal's formulation protects the
withanolides from digestive inactivation and enhances their absorption.
Ashwagandha has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for many centuries to promote
resistance to stress, and to promote health and longevity by increasing
resistance to disease, slowing the aging process and revitalizing the body in
debilitating conditions. It has also been reported to enhance mental function
and memory.
The incidence of defecation and urination under the stressful conditions was the measure of stress. Only 10 percent of the control rats engaged in defecation, 30 percent in stress-induced urination. There was a 90 percent incidence of defecation and 100 percent incidence in urination in the PTZ-only rats. The rats given PTZ and Sensoril had a 20 percent defecation and 40 percent urination incidence, only slightly more than the controls. Another group of rats was forced to swim in inescapable containers for six minutes. When rats give up under stress, they cease vigorous swimming and hang motionless, with their noses just above water. The stress-induced immobility period for the control rats was 188 seconds, but only 122 seconds for the Sensoril-treated rats.
In yet another rat study, restraint stress induced stress ulcers. One hundred percent of the control rats developed ulcers, yet only 20 percent of the Sensoril rats developed ulcers. The rats group score, a composite of the number and severity of the ulcers, was 46 for the control rats and 10.6 for the Sensoril rats.
Rats were exposed to severe overcrowding conditions or tactile stress (continuous poking), and then given morphine. Seventy percent of the tactile-stressed and 100 percent of the overcrowding-stressed control rats developed convulsions, and 80 percent and 90 percent died, respectively. Yet only 10 percent of the tactile-stressed rats and 10 percent of the overcrowding-stressed rats given morphine plus Sensoril developed convulsions, while 0 percent and 10 percent died.
Another experiment focused on the effects of stress on the adrenal glands. Some rats were restrained; some were not. Some of the restraint-stress rats were given Sensoril; some were not. Then animals were sacrificed, and their adrenal glands extracted and weighed. The content of vitamin C and corticosterone (the rat equivalent of cortisol) were measured. Severe stress causes adrenal glands to enlarge, and their vitamin C and corticosterone content drops. The C is used up in making corticosterone and the corticosterone is released in response to stress. The unstressed control rats had an average adrenal weight of 25.4 mg/100 grams body weight.
The restraint-stressed rats without Sensoril had an adrenal weight of 34.2, while the restraint-stressed rats with Sensoril had an adrenal weight of 22.5. The control rats had 298 mcg vitamin C/100 mg adrenal weight, and 3.9 mcg corticosterone/100 mg adrenal weight. The restraint-stressed rats without Sensoril had only 126 mcg C, and 1.4 mcg corticosterone, a clear measure of their severe stress. The restraint-stressed-plus-Sensoril rats had 272 mcg C and 4.4 mcg corticosterone.
The fact that the restraint-stressed Sensoril rats had smaller adrenal glands with more corticosterone in them than the unstressed control rats, and almost as much C, shows that biologically speaking, the Sensoril/stressed rats were actually less stressed than the unstressed control rats!
Other studies have shown the ability of Sensoril to reduce morphine-stress-induced immunodepression, and to increase immune activity and learning and memory in both young and old rats under stressful conditions. Sensoril has increased the brain antioxidant enzymes SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in a manner similar to deprenyl. It has also reduced the brain damage caused by haloperidol, an anti-psychotic medication noted for causing a neurodisorder called tardive dyskinesia.
Cortisol Control Formula: Relora Plus Sensoril
Given the excellent safety profile of the active ingredients in
Relora and Sensoril, their use for centuries in Oriental medicine and their
modern scientific validation, it makes sense to combine them to create a potent
anti-stress supplement known as Cortisol Control Formula. Each Cortisol Control
Formula capsule contains 250 mg Relora and 75 mg Sensoril. The recommended dose
is one capsule three times per day. Cortisol Control should not be combined with
alcohol. It should not be taken with prescription psychiatric drugs, such as
Valium or other benzodiazepines, without physician approval. Cortisol Control
is not intended for use by children under 18, or pregnant or lactating women.
Relora is already a widely used, popular stress-management
supplement. Naturopathic physician James LaValle has reported excellent results
with its use in his practice. The new combination of Relora and Sensoril should
prove even more effective in helping to alleviate stress overload, the scourge
of our modern 24/7 hyper-drive world.
Highly recommended
source of nutrients and supplements.
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